Chapter 9 - THE DRIVE
The next morning, Sarah received an email from her company.
Effective immediately, she was suspended pending an internal review.
No explanation.
No hearing.
No conversation.
She laughed when she read it.
Not because it was funny.
Because anger had passed the point where normal reactions still worked.
Eleanor read the email.
“He’s isolating you.”
“Good luck.”
“What do you mean?”
Sarah looked at Owen through the window.
He was practicing with a physical therapist Eleanor had called.
“He thinks taking away my job makes me scared.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Eleanor looked surprised.
Sarah continued.
“But fear doesn’t always make people run.”
“What does it make you do?”
“Sometimes it makes you mean.”
Eleanor smiled slightly.
Then her phone rang.
She listened for less than ten seconds.
Her face changed.
“What?”
She ended the call.
“One of my auditors found something.”
“What?”
“A backup drive.”
“Where?”
“My husband’s old office.”
Sarah stood.
“What’s on it?”
“We don’t know.”
“Then let’s find out.”
The drive was locked in a safe at Eleanor’s downtown residence.
They left Owen under guard and drove there.
Halfway across town, Sarah noticed a black SUV behind them.
She looked in the side mirror.
“Has that car been following us?”
Eleanor glanced back.
“I don’t know.”
The SUV changed lanes when they did.
Then again.
Sarah’s heart sped up.
“Driver?”
“I see it,” the security driver said.
“Is it yours?”
“No.”
The SUV accelerated.
“Hold on,” the driver said.
It slammed into their rear bumper.
Sarah screamed.
Eleanor grabbed the door handle.
The driver turned sharply.
The SUV hit them again.
Harder.
Metal screamed.
Traffic scattered.
“Call 911!” the driver shouted.
Sarah pulled out her phone.
The SUV moved beside them.
The rear window lowered.
A man leaned out.
Sarah saw something in his hand.
A gun.
“DOWN!”
The driver jerked the wheel.
A shot cracked.
The back window exploded.
Glass rained across the seats.
Eleanor screamed.
Sarah grabbed her and pulled her down.
Another shot hit the trunk.
The driver shot through a red light.
Cars honked.
Tires squealed.
Then the SUV disappeared behind a delivery truck.
Sarah’s lungs burned.
“Is everyone okay?”
Eleanor touched her face.
Blood.
Just a small cut.
“I’m fine.”
Police arrived minutes later.
But the SUV was gone.
At Eleanor’s residence, detectives told them to stay outside while officers cleared the building.
Finally, they entered the office.
Eleanor opened the safe.
Her hands shook.
Inside were old documents.
Jewelry.
A passport.
But no drive.
She stared.
“No.”
Sarah looked at her.
“You’re sure it was here?”
“Yes.”
Eleanor searched again.
Nothing.
Then Sarah noticed a small object taped beneath the bottom shelf.
“What’s that?”
Eleanor pulled it loose.
A USB drive.
She stared.
“My husband used to hide birthday presents like this.”
Sarah almost laughed.
They plugged it into a laptop.
Folders appeared.
Bank records.
Emails.
Contracts.
Photos.
Then one video file.
Eleanor clicked it.
Her husband appeared on screen.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
“If you’re watching this,” he said, “something has happened to me.”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
The video continued.
“The man stealing from the foundation is Richard Caldwell.”
Sarah leaned forward.
Then Eleanor’s husband said one more thing.
“But Richard isn’t the one in charge.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“The person behind everything is someone Eleanor trusts more than anyone.”
May you like
The video froze.
And a name appeared on the screen.
